GERD Support Groups

MDJunction

http://www.mdjunction.com/gerd

“people helping people”

This is a website for many different support groups. It allows people “dealing with the same kind of medical, mental, or social challenges” to “openly share their personal experiences, feelings and wisdom in a mutual ‘comfort zone’.” There are categories of support groups, including GERD, and when you find the one you want, you can interact with many others coping with the same issue. It is free to join and easy to use.

WebMD:

http://exchanges.webmd.com/gerd-and-heartburn

WebMD offers an “exchanges” page for people suffering from GERD to offer tips, resources, and discuss the disease together.

Apps for GERD

There are many apps available for those interested in gastroesophageal reflux disease. How does one decide which apps are useful and which ones aren’t? You can do some research to figure out what other people use, and read the reviews on each app, but the best way is to do trial and error.

Here are a couple of the apps I found that looked like they would be helpful for someone with GERD:

Acid Reflux Guides - Fact & Causes of Acid Reflux Symptoms, Home Remedies for Acid Reflux & Heartburn
price: $0.99
This app is educational. It has several categories to teach you about GERD, and has “Best acid reflux guides ebook, acid reflux guides articles, and acid reflux guides gallery.

Heartburn, GERD, and Acid Reflux Diary
price: $4.99
This app was created to help someone track many factors including what you ate, symptoms, exercise, medications, medical events, and many more. It charts your input and makes it easy to view trends and your history. The goal of this app is to make it “easy to feel better, be happy, organized and stress-free!”

Gastroenterology, Official Journal of the AGA Institute
price: free
This looks like a great app for researching GERD and staying on top of new information. This app “delivers up-to-date” and authoritative coverage of both basic and clinical gastroenterology.” It includes figures, tables, and articles on gastroenterology (the branch of medicine that deals with diseases of the stomach and intestines) which includes gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Website Recommendation for GERD

Kidshealth.org,. (2015). Have You Heard of GERD? . Retrieved 29 November 2015, from

http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/stomach/gerd.html

One helpful website I have used to find a myriad of information is Healthline.com. Healthline’s mission is “to make the people of the world healthier through the power of information.” The website is easy to use. It has clearly labelled categories of information and keeps the articles simple but informative. The language used is straightforward to understand and each article is reviewed by an editor to make sure the website stays that way. If you aren’t confident in the quality of the material, there is a page that tells you all about Healthline and how its posts are written. Each one must be reviewed by a board-certified physician and then goes to the editors. They have goals and criteria that must be met for each post, so the reader can be sure the information is accurate.

There is a large quantity of information for GERD which I found to be very useful in my research. I would highly recommend Healthline.com to anyone wanting to know more about gastroesophageal refliux disease. In addition, Healthline has a substantial amount of information for several other diseases as well.

Please always remember that the best source of information is your doctor and that you should never rely solely on information that you read on the internet.

http://www.healthline.com/health/gerd?ref=global

Dietary Treatment for GERD

The most significant treatment for someone dealing with gastroesophageal reflux disease is dietary change. 

What kinds of foods should be avoided if you have GERD? Menu items that are fatty, fried or oily should be avoided altogether. Citrus (oranges, lemons, tomatoes, etc.), acidic, and spicy seasonings can also irritate the stomach and should be limited. Other foods that should be restricted or avoided include mint, onions and garlic, and chocolate. If you don’t like the idea of giving up a certain type of food altogether, keep in mind that everyone is different. You should first try limiting your intake and see if it helps, or if it is better to not eat it at all.

What types of beverages are not good for people with GERD? Carbonated drinks and caffeine can irritate the stomach and should not be consumed by GERD patients. Whole milk or chocolate milk, alcohol, and some teas are also recommended to be limited. 

Many websites recommend keeping a food diary to help you track what you should and shouldn’t eat. Record what you eat, when you eat, and any symptoms from the foods and use this to help you decide what foods make your GERD worse or better. Some other ideas to keep in mind are not lying down immediately after eating and to avoid chewing gum or hard candy. Lying down after eating increases the likelihood of stomach contents flowing backward into the esophagus and chewing gum or hard candy increase the amount of air swallowed, which in turn increases burping and reflux. The best way to eat when dealing with GERD is slowly and small quantities. Eating too fast can put stress on your stomach, so take your time when eating. Eating small meals more often as opposed to eating a couple large meals can also reduce the stress on your stomach, and therefore help with GERD.

Treatment options for GERD

Treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease can be tricky. With different levels of severity of GERD comes the decision of which option is best for the patient. The primary treatment options include medications, surgery, and lifestyle changes. Another factor to take into account is that sometimes certain treatments don’t work for some patients, but do for others. You don’t want to jump straight to trying surgery for a patient who could benefit from simple lifestyle changes, but trial and error can take a long time.

There are a few types of medications commonly used to treat GERD. Sometimes a simple over-the-counter antacid, such as Pepto-Bismol or Tums, taken after meals can help people suffering from GERD. Antacid can sometimes cause diarrhea or constipation, but those are more common when the antacids are taken too frequently. H2 Blockers reduce the amount of acid produced by the stomach. H2 Blockers can be over-the-counter (ex: Zantac 25), but higher dosage H2 Blockers are prescription medications. H2 Blockers can sometimes cause headaches, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. If side effects are experienced often, talk to the doctor. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are mostly all prescription medications and they limit acid secretion longer than H2 Blockers. PPIs can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, upset stomach, headaches, and in rare cases can cause an increased risk for pneumonia and bone fracture. As with H2 Blockers, talk to the doctor about side effects if you experience them often. One type of medication does not necessarily work better than another. It all depends on the person taking it and what the doctor feels is best. 

There are different types of surgery that can be performed for treating GERD. If a person has GERD due to a hiatal hernia, hernia repair surgery can help. There are a few different surgeries that can be done to reinforce the lower esophageal sphincter. One type involves installing a small ring around the outside of the sphincter. It keeps the sphincter closed until food comes down the esophagus and then as the sphincter opens the ring stretches. Another type of surgery called fundoplication involves taking the top of the stomach (called the fundus) and wrapping it around the lower esophageal sphincter. This reinforces the sphincter like the ring, and can also be performed after a hiatal hernia repair. Side effects are rare with these surgeries, although it is common for patients to have difficulty swallowing for the first couple months afterwards and occasionally patients feel slightly bloated.

Lifestyle changes principally involve the person’s diet. Watching what you eat and how much is very important with GERD, but I will go into more detail about diet considerations later. Since obesity has been linked to GERD, losing weight is a must if you are overweight and suffering from GERD. Other lifestyle changes include watching your posture, quitting smoking, raising the head of your bed, and being careful of when you exercise. Keeping good posture after meals and not lying down makes it harder for food to travel backwards. Allow time for food to digest before lying down. The International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders says “Don't lie down within 3 hours of eating. That's when acid production is at its peak, so plan early dinners and avoid bedtime snacks.” Raising the head of the bed is helpful for people who experience GERD at nighttime. It makes it harder for stomach acid to flow back into your esophagus while you are lying down. Scheduling when you exercise can make a difference. Exertion after eating can put stress on your esophagus, so exercising immediately after meals is probably not a good idea. Wait a couple hours to allow the food to digest. 

The main premise for treating GERD is to watch what you are putting down and doing to your esophagus and to talk to your doctor about what is best.

jacksonville.com,. (2015). New device at Mayo Clinic 'a game changer' for acid reflux. Retrieved 18 October 2015, from http://jacksonville.com/news/health-and-fitness/2012-04-18/story/new-device-mayo-clinic-game-changer-acid-reflux

Signs and Symptoms of GERD

There are numerous signs and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Some of these signs and symptoms may be experienced by people who do not have GERD,  so oftentimes a person with GERD won’t identify their symptoms as anything abnormal until they get worse. 

Common signs and symptoms of GERD include: bad breath, nausea, pain in chest or upper abdomen (heartburn), difficulty with swallowing, painful swallowing, respiratory problems, vomiting, belching, water brash (sudden excess of saliva), feeling of lump in throat, chronic sore throat, laryngitis, inflammation of gums, erosion of the enamel of the teeth, hoarseness in morning, earache, and a sour taste in mouth. To experience some of these symptoms occasionally is normal; however, if they persist for long periods, it could be an indication that someone has GERD. 

Some of the unusual symptoms such as tooth erosion and ear pain can be confusing for some people. I know I was confused how ear pain can be related to GERD. Stomach acid is a powerful agent. If you are having stomach acid flow backwards, it can reach your mouth and eat away at your tooth enamel. If stomach acid goes far enough up the throat, it is actually possible for it to reach the eustachian tube which connects to your inner ear, causing earache. 

All these symptoms are due to the mighty power of stomach acid. Bad breath? Stomach acid. Heartburn? Stomach acid. Sore throat? You guessed it, stomach acid. Belching? Stomach acid bubbles! Some people experience symptoms of GERD worse than others, and there are even some partially lucky people who don’t experience symptoms at all. I say partially lucky because having symptoms is what is going to prompt you to speak to your doctor about them, getting you one step closer to helping your body. 

A blogger named Holle Abee has a great article on some of the symptoms of GERD and a short story of one of her bad experiences with it. You can read her article at: http://habee.hubpages.com/hub/Symptoms-of-GERD

RefluxMD,. (2015). GERD symptoms 101: What to do about the symptoms of GERD disease. Retrieved 18 October 2015, from http://www.refluxmd.com/learn/resources/2013-03-22/1745/gerd-symptoms-101-what-do-about-symptoms-gerd-disease

How is GERD diagnosed?

There are many ways that gastroesophageal reflux disease can be diagnosed. Often times a person suffering from GERD can correctly diagnose themselves; however, the best way is to go to your physician and ask him or her about GERD before you start trying to treat yourself. Mayoclinic.org lists five diagnosis options for GERD: by symptoms, acid in esophagus monitor, x-ray of upper digestive system, endoscopy, and a test to monitor the movement of the esophagus. 

When visiting your primary care physician, you can describe to him your symptoms. Based on what you tell him, it is possible to diagnose you as having GERD. If your doctor wants to rule out other gastrointestinal diseases (as I talked about earlier, it is often hard to distinguish between gastrointestinal disorders),  he may recommend some of these other tests. 

Monitoring the amount of acid in the esophagus is called an ambulatory acid probe test. It measures acid in the esophagus for 24 hours. “The device identifies when, and for how long, stomach acid regurgitates into your esophagus (Mayoclinic.org)." This is done using a thin and flexible tube which goes through the nose and down the esophagus and is attached to a small computer worn around the waist. It can also be done using a small clip inside the esophagus (placed there during an endoscopy) which transmits information to a computer. After a couple days the clip falls off and is digested. 

An x-ray of the upper digestive system is also called a barium swallow. The patient drinks a solution of barium sulfate which coats the inside of the upper digestive system. The x-ray can then get a silhouette of the system and identify any abnormalities.

An endoscopy is a procedure to view the inside of the esophagus and stomach and can also be used to obtain a sample of tissue for a biopsy. During an endoscopy, a thin, flexible tube with a light and a camera on the end is inserted down the patient’s throat. The physician slowly maneuvers the scope through the system. If a biopsy is needed, a thin instrument is threaded through the scope and comes out the end of the tube to collect the sample. 

Esophageal motility testing (manometry) is particularly useful in determining whether or not the lower esophageal sphincter is working properly. The test measures activity in the esophagus, specifically movement and pressures.

As I said before, you can likely speculate whether or not you have gastroesophageal reflux disease, but the only way to truly know for certain is to go to your physician and ask. It is up to your doctor to then decide if she is comfortable diagnosing you based on your reported symptoms or if she wants to do more testing to be sure.

Ascentxmedical.com,. (2015). G125 for GERD - Ascentix Medical. Retrieved 18 October 2015, from http://ascentxmedical.com/technology-platform/G125-for-GERD/